If you party, party right! One of Europe's largest transport and logistics operators, Jost Group, has just ordered 500 examples of the liquefied natural gas-powered Iveco Stralis NP truck tractor. And they're only getting started!

We regularly report deals under which transport companies purchase up to several tens of gaseous fuel-powered vehicles for their fleets, but 500 in one go? Such things only happen once in a blue moon, but in this particular case it all results directly from Jost Group's policy – they aim to have 35% of their fleet running on LNG by the year 2020. And if 500 trucks are just a means towards achieving that goal, you know the company means business.

A historic deal

However, the contract is also remarkable for the selling party – never before has Iveco sold so many of its vehicles to a single buyer. Obviously, not all 500 trucks will be delivered overnight – the process will be split into phases, the first of which will see 150 Stralises handed over to Jost Group across 2018. The remaining 350 vehicles will be entering service gradually until 2020. And if you thought there's nothing more to this story, well, there is more.

Refueling is the key

That's because having over a third of your fleet running on LNG is one thing, but having regular and easy access to refueling facilities is quite another. Of course, infrastructure is being developed and improving, but stations are still few and far between, so Jost Group decided to invest in three of their own, located in the company's largest operating centres in Belgium. After all, an operator like this one cannot afford downtime of vehicles – they are meant to make miles and earn money.

LNG replaces diesel

Thanks to the deal Jost Group can now begin a process of gradual retiring of pre-Euro 6 diesel-powered trucks. And there are quite a few to be retired, since the company's entire fleet comprises 1400 truck tractors and 3000 trailers. In fact, the replacement procedure is already underway – Jost Group is already using 132 methane-powered Iveco Stralis Natural Power trucks, of which 2 run on CNG rather than LNG. Thanks to the newly purchased 500 vehicles probably the largest LNG fleet in Europe will be created. No-one's going to come close to topping that result, but we seriously hope someone's going to at least try.